When To Announce Pregnancy: What’s Too Early To Start Telling People You’re Pregnant?

You’ve found out you’re pregnant, and now you’re ready to share the news with the world.

However, before you do so, there are some things you should think about first that may affect how soon you decide to tell everyone that you’re expecting!

To help you decide exactly when to announce your pregnancy, I’ll share with you my own experience — plus some reasons for announcing pregnancy early versus waiting a little longer to share the good news.

Reasons To Tell Everyone Right Away

You may find it hard to keep your lips sealed about the new baby for 12 weeks — if you just found out after missing a period and taking a pregnancy test.

All of the excitement and expectation can be hard to keep to yourself.

A few reasons for sharing your good news with others early on:

More people will be able to share in your joy and excitement from the beginning.

If you’re experiencing any of the early signs of pregnancy, you won’t have to make up any excuses in an effort to hide your pregnancy.

You’ll feel more comfortable reaching out to other moms — both online and in person — to ask questions and begin forming a support network to get you through the entire pregnancy.

TIP: If you live in a small town or you’re active on social media, then it may be hard to keep your pregnancy a secret for long. As soon as a few people find out, the chances are good they’ll tell others — causing the news about your pregnancy to get out faster than you had originally intended.

But… what happens if you’ve told everyone you’re pregnant and something happens — like a miscarriage or some other complication — that causes you to lose the baby?

One thing is for sure: the amount of support you’ll receive to help you through this traumatic time in your life will be invaluable! Very few life events are as traumatic as losing a baby, no matter how far along you are.

Can’t we as women have control over our bodies and thus make our own decisions? One in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage… I think it’s a huge problem that society makes some women feel like they have to keep their pregnancies and their miscarriages hidden away. Source

Reasons To Wait A Little Longer

On the other hand, there are a few reasons why you might want to keep your lips sealed about your pregnancy:

If you’re less than 3 months along, you might want to wait until you are much closer to your second trimester before you say anything — because a lot can happen in that short amount of time. A woman’s risk of miscarriage is greatest in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. (Your chances of having a miscarriage drop from 25% to 10% once you hit the second trimester.) So, if you’ve told everyone early and then you lose your baby — you may find it extremely awkward to be around people who were recently congratulating you about your pregnancy.

And then there’s all of the unwanted pregnancy advice you’re likely to receive. The earlier you announce your pregnancy, the more unsolicited advice you’ll receive — and you’ll constantly be asked how you’re feeling. Some women aren’t always eager to share the details of their pregnancy and hear what others think they “should” and “shouldn’t” do for 9 months straight.

If your pregnancy is a surprise or you have some mixed emotions about the situation, then you may feel inclined to keep the news to yourself for a little while

Yes, waiting may make you a little anxious and give your friends and relatives less time to prepare for baby. However, when you consider the amount of stress and anxiety that often comes with the first trimester and the not so pleasant early signs of pregnancy, then you may find that you have more time to enjoy the good news yourself when you’re past the stage for initial concerns and you’re feeling better yourself.

Some types of prenatal testing – like amniocentesis – aren’t available until around 16 to 18 weeks. “People who might consider a termination due to genetic defects may prefer to wait on sharing their news until after they receive clear test results. Otherwise they’ll be stuck in the position of having to share something extremely personal and difficult with other people. Source

My Experience Announcing Pregnancy

With my first pregnancy, I was young and not really comfortable with the idea of being pregnant. I waited and didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t look pregnant until I was 6 months along. At that point, it was pretty obvious that I was expecting.

Keeping the news to myself stressed me out. I didn’t have anyone to turn to for emotional support –because no one knew what was going on.

If I had to do it all again, I would tell everyone as soon as I found out.

When I learned that I was expecting my last 2 children (at about 6 weeks), I told everyone right away.

Everyone was so excited and supportive about everything that I felt a little uncomfortable initially from all of the attention — but I learned to embrace it.

When To Tell Work You’re Pregnant

But for the most part, women generally wait until the risk of miscarriage is quite low before telling co-workers about their pregnancy. That’s usually at the end of your first trimester — between 10 to 12 weeks — which is also the time when most women begin to show.

It can be particularly hard to fake it in the face of severe morning sickness, and you may prefer for your co-workers to know you’re pregnant rather than think you’re a deadbeat. Source

In the end, there are recommendations — but there really isn’t a right or wrong time for you to tell everyone you’re expecting. It all boils down to personal preference.

But before you make any decisions about telling anyone, just make sure you take some time to examine your feelings about the being pregnant and the associated risks of making early and delayed pregnancy announcements.

More Tips For When To Announce Pregnancy

In addition to the links I’ve included above, here are some other resources to help you decide when to announce your pregnancy on your own terms:

I'm a stay-at-home mom and writer. Having experienced the joys and discomforts of pregnancy 3 times, I have a lot of advice to offer expecting mothers. I'm committed to providing new moms with an in-depth and honest view on pregnancy, so you'll have a better idea of what to expect and a good feel for what pregnancy is really like.

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